Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 81,406 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 29.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 361,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 81,406 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Western Union were worth $3,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WU. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Western Union by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857,012 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,726,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $132,384,000 after purchasing an additional 549,931 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,663,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Western Union by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,264,000 after buying an additional 283,479 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $10.49 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.98. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 3.84, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

Western Union Company Profile

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices.